That's Good Science! | videos

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Quantifying Population Size by the Hairs of the Bears

(runtime: 2:11 min)

Asian black bears live in the Himalayas, parts of Asia, and the Japanese islands Honshu and Shikoku. Related to now-extinct bear species and classified as vulnerable, Asian black bears are of keen interest to conservation biologists. But they're also aggressive, and researchers weren't eager to get up close and personal. So, how to estimate population size accurately while minimizing bear interaction? Hair traps and a sensitive PCR assay using PrimeSTAR GXL polymerase. That's Good Science!